We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michelle Santagate a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

The launch was soft. I didn’t even know it was happening. I had started to record tarot card readings for my YouTube channel that I’d had for years but had never done anything with. They didn’t get many views but made me happy. I was working corporate at the time and felt so stuck and unhappy. So the readings made my lunch breaks something to look forward to. I was laid off two weeks later. And two weeks after that I found out I needed surgery on my neck. It was a whirlwind. The readings kept me focused and happy in a time that was so uncertain. And I just kept uploading them. One day in July, about a month after my lay-off and a month before my surgery, I decided to try a different kind of tarot reading. I’d been so fearful that I wouldn’t be good at it, that i didn’t know or understand enough or have the talent. But I tried. Those readings were my weekly zodiac readings and they are the foundation of my channel even today. Within two months I had 15k subs and was making enough money to support myself without having a job. Which was good because after the surgery I couldn’t go back to any employement right away. I thought my YouTube readings were just going to be something that I did to keep me busy until I took another job, but by that December I was doing well enough to create an LLC for myself. And I’m glad I did. Because by March of 2020 Covid hit and the entire country changed. I was one of the lucky ones. Every step I took was a step in the dark. I had no idea what the path forward was. But faith took me some place I’d never have found on my own – financial independence and entrepreneurship. Over the next year I took out a small business loan to hire an SEO and YT specialist who I worked with for six months. He guided me in ways to grow my YouTube presence and with his help my channel doubled in viewership. At this point I was all in. Honestly every day still scares me. I read, listen, and grow from all kinds of different information and instruction that I can get my hands on. Some works, some doesn’t. But I keep trying and taking chances. What works I keep, what doesn’t I let go of. I guess I’m just following the advice I give to my viewers. Work with the universe and let it guide you. It has bigger plans for you than you could ever dream.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Michelle Santagate and my business is Born with Boundaries LLC. I am an astrologer and tarot card reader and I create zodiac specific tarot card readings and astrology predictions that I share on YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and multiple podcast channels. Every week I provide tarot and astrology predictions, insights, and inspiration through over 35 pieces of content distributed over the various social channels. Currently my primary viewership is over my two YouTube channels, Born without Boundaries Tarot and Astrology Motivation. I work globally with personal clients that find me through my videos. My website, Bornwithoutboundariestarot.com provides a description of all my client services as well as scheduling and payment. My clients receive a recorded personal reading through a private URL. It saves everyone the stress of having to worry about a zoom meeting at a specific time. You can watch your reading whenever you’re ready and have time. Astrology has been an interest all my life. I was always reading my horoscope and reading whatever I could about the relationship between our planets and ourselves. It’s fathomless, the connections. And the practice of Astrology provides thousands of years of information in human behavior and global behavior. It is the original study of behaviorism, only with thousands of years of data points instead of just the past 80 years that science has provided. It was probably around middle school that I first started reading about it, just as a passion. I never assumed I’d make a career out of it. But here I am, almost four years later, with a thriving business completely devoted to what I love. I’m even writing a full sci-fantasy novel founded on all I’ve learned from my studies. It’s my passion project and I can’t wait to publish. My Born without Boundaries Tarot deck will come out first though. That’s a passion project, and it’s so beautiful.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Growing up in housing projects and in welfare the career ethics I was brought up with were dim. Basically get a job so you wouldn’t be a financial burden to anyone. It sucked. And I never believed it. I always believed there was more out there for me. But in the back of my mind part of those learned limitations stuck with me. I believed advancement was getting a “good job” that paid a “generous salary”. I thought a college diploma and a six figure corporate salary was success. Boy was I wrong. And I learned it the hard way. After all the sacrifice I made over ten years of raising my son (I’m a single mom), working full time, and going to school, all I got was laid off twice in two years time. It was unbelievable at first. Because in my mind the route I took was supposed to lead to job security. But it didn’t. Turns out your corporation can lay you off anytime they want, without notice and minimal time to find something new. The only security I’ve ever had is with Born without Boundaries. And that’s because it’s based on the opportunities I create for myself.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I began recording tarot readings on YouTube I had no idea what my audience wanted. I started cold, with no information or understanding of how YouTube worked. I was just making videos that I liked. Which is actually a really good place to start. My advice to anyone starting out on YouTune or social media in general is to just start. And mess up. And learn and then grow. It’s really how everyone does it. Even the top earners. What I did was watch some of the other channels like mine and I saw the most popular kind of content. And so I began to create my version of it. Tarot reading and astrology is very personal. You have to be yourself. But the TYPE of subject matter is what made the difference. I pivoted from creating general daily readings to zodiac specific readings and the viewership on my videos tripled (on certain videos it was more than that). The best thing I ever did was learn from the success of others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bornwithoutboundariestarot.com/
• Instagram: Born_without_Boundaries
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bornwithoutboundaries?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/born-without-boundaries-llc/
• Twitter: @NokomisMichelle
• Youtube: @bornwithoutboundariestarot @astrologymotivation
• Other: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/BornwithoutBoundaries?mibextid=Zxz2cZ The Born without Boundaries MERCHANDISE STORE: https://born-without-boundaries.creator-spring.com/?mibextid=Zxz2cZ